My Engaged Learning project is to create an English Literacy and Life Skills/Professional Development Program for the Aramark Facility Services employees at Southern Methodist University. The population we will serve is our very own custodial, maintenance, and grounds care employees on campus. Potential program students are from all over the world speaking Nepali, Spanish, Swahili and/or Kirundi as their first language. I have collaborated with Aramark Facilities Service Directors to recruit students and we already have 35 students registered for classes.

We are now recruiting volunteers to be on our team to volunteer as teachers for the adult program, teachers for coinciding Children’s Program, translators, and other volunteers to assist teachers and help with behind the scenes work and planning. There will be a Professional Development Training for all volunteer teachers and we are looking to create teams of teachers for each class, so the volunteer work will be flexible enough to fit everyone’s schedule.

Please Contact me if you are interested in volunteering or learning more about the Project. Thank you! 🙂

An update from Lisa Raizes who is working with Ethiopian-Israeli youth at The Unity Project to promote unity and empowerment.

There have been many highlights during my time at ENP, but some of my favorites were the girls’ nights that I planned and led. The girls’ nights were my way of building self-confidence within the girls as well as developing unity between them. Each girls’ night we would eat food from a different culture and then participate in various activities.

For the first girls’ night I had planned for the girls to each make their own pizza on pita bread, decorate their own journal, create a family crest, and have fun with a few icebreakers and games. Being the first time I was leading a girls’ night, the evening came with some unexpected struggles. Not all of the girls wanted to participate in all of the activities and sometimes they got off task. Their lack of focus was further perpetuated by the unproductive translating between the other volunteer and me at times when translation was needed. Furthermore, there was a miscommunication between the counselor and myself – I thought all of the girls were each going to make their own pita pizza, but instead the counselor had made all of them herself as a snack for everyone and we didn’t eat until the end of the night.

In the end I know the girls had a good time, but I also knew that there were many things I wanted to improve for future girls’ nights. The counselor, the other volunteer (who helps translate), and I debriefed the night right afterward and talked about what we needed to improve upon for next time. I once read that the debrief of an action is just as important as the action itself, and our girls’ night debrief was very important to having a successful second girls’ night.

The second night was much improved! The counselor and I had better communication, making sure we both understood what we expected from each other for the second night. The other volunteer and I had worked out a way for translating to be more efficient. This time I had decided it would be better to eat first since the girls might be more focused on full stomachs. It worked.

We started off making falafel together. If you are not familiar with falafel, they are fried chickpeas shaped into a ball. Usually you put falafel balls in a pita with tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, and more. The girls were assigned different tasks such as cutting the vegetables or setting the table. The teacher in me found it interesting that each girl had her own unique way of cutting the vegetables. One girl cut a cucumber in vertical slices and then cut across it perpendicularly to dice it. Another girl cut the cucumber in circles and that cut each circle into fourths. It was the same result, and different ways of going about it. This is similar to teaching – students often use different strategies to come up with the same solution.

Girls making falafel

Afterward we played games such as “Guess the song,” where the player hums a song and the audience guesses what song it is, and “Most likely to…” where each girl was awarded a title by their peers that started with the phrase “Most likely to…”. An example might be: “Most likely to travel the world.” These games were meant to get everyone comfortable with each other. I would have liked to delve into further conversation with the girls that night, but we ran out of time. This time the girls’ behavior was much more focused and you could tell they thoroughly enjoyed the night!

They say the third time is the charm. I think they are right. The third meeting was potluck style with the girls each bringing an Ethiopian dish from home. Again, we ate first. Before we dug in, I wanted each girl to tell me about the dish they had brought – what it was, how they made it. I don’t remember the names of each dish but I won’t forget sitting there and being so appreciative that each girl and her family took the time to cook something for the potluck and the pride in which the girls talked about their dishes.

On this particular day, the other volunteer brought her friend to the center. Her friend was born in Ethiopia but moved to the U.S. when she was young. I think she and the kids quickly connected since she was someone who understood their struggles, having been born in their same country and also having had to adapt into a new society. It was clear she and the kids had faced some of the same challenges. She also wore her hair natural and short. Most of the girls here straighten their hair, and I think it was good for them to see someone with the same hair type wear it natural, short, and confident. She was the perfect role model for the kids – an Ethiopian who adapted into a new society, but who still maintains her roots and culture. After all of the thoughtful conversation, we ended the night with a fun game.

I can tell how much each girls’ night improved from the one before it and how I improved as a leader, especially after reflecting back on them. I can also tell how the attitude shifted between the girls as the girls’ nights progressed. By the end, every girl was participating, every girl was laughing, and every girl was exploring their identity as Ethiopian-Israelis.

On Sunday I had a great opportunity to go to an eco-tourism resort and spa near the GREAT WALL OF FREAKING CHINA. Yes, I’ve been before, but its still really really cool.

The spa is called The Brickyard and there is a restaurant nearby owned by the same people called is the Schoolhouse at MuTianYu (the facility used to be the village schoolhouse). I heard about this place and naturally put on my important business lady internet facade and wrote a very official email, to which I was offered free transportation (an hour and a half away from the city), a tour, and lunch! The car was departing at 9:00am, which was no big deal because I wake up at 4:00am most days anyway (thank you 13 hour time difference). It was a slightly awkward ride since the woman who picked me up spoke approximately zero English, and, wanting to take advantage of having a Chinese person my captive audience, I stumbled around conversational sentences trying to engage her. This was only a little successful because before I could get the words I wanted to say out of my mouth she was responding, at which point I was still trying to process the question I was asking and not receptive to an answer… but I would say I understood a good 65% of what was going on.

We wound our way up the mountain that seemed to just appear out of the smog after an hour of highways and flat-landed cities, and pulled into a precariously sloped driveway. I stepped out and straightened my dress, ready to make a professional impression.

I walked into a courtyard surrounded by buildings with selected panes replaced by stained glass (apparently they have a resident glass blower). Jim Spear, one of the owners, specializes in remodeling and refurbishing traditional Chinese homes using modern comfort and technology, therefore all the buildings were very inviting.

I was greeted by, to my surprise, and American from Seattle. I later found out that he is doing an internship at mutianyu developing fruit vinegars and liquors as a branch of the business. He works independently and experiments with ingredients of his own choosing, as is the structure of the internship. Where was this when I was looking for something to do in China?? Anyway, I wrote more about the internship and the resort’s eco-practices on my other blog if you are interested in reading more: http://anxinbeijing.tumblr.com/post/93055492258/the-brickyard

This guy’s name is Chris, and he sat down with me and just started talking. He was very sociable and would joke occasionally with the Chinese employees in slang-ridden Mandarin that I was not privy to. When he arrived in China 2 years ago, after finishing a degree at UW in Horticultural and sustainablitly something or other, he did not speak a lick of Chinese. Now he is pretty much fluent, I was very impressed. After about 2 hours of conversation and my grilling interview questions (“so, um, tell me about the farm, maybe, if you want to?” – okay, not THAT timidly ), I so candidly asked “It’s super nice of you to talk to me, but do you have a job to do or something?” Giving me a tour was his task of the morning, however, so that was cool.

Fun Fact: Michelle Obama visited the very place that I was sitting a year ago and Chris had the privilege of serving her water.

Chris did eventually have to go back to work, so another employee who spoke a little bit of English handed me a map and told me I could see the Great Wall while I was waiting for my car back to the city. On the map the path to the Wall was labeled “hike,” and as I was noticing this he looked at my feet and said “I think your shoes are not right.” To which I belligerently smiled and said, “I think it will be fine!”

It was a long mile uphill, and I was getting strange looks from locals as I traversed the rocky terrain in a cute pair of sandals and my cotton dress. When I got to the top, there was a certain point at which you had to present a ticket, so I stopped there and just looked up in awe at the ancient structure built atop a mountain to ward off potential nomadic enemies. I tried to take a picture, but they just don’t do it justice. Plus from that far away, it just looks so small!

Going down was almost worse than going up… I perpetually felt like I was going to tumble over and somersault down the road. I made it back without incident, and did quite enjoy the cumbersome walk regardless.

The ride back to the city was significantly less awkward, mainly because I was sound asleep. It was a day to remember, and one day I hope to return to The Brickyard with on a more spa-heavy excursion – and proper footwear.

The life of a standby passenger is exhausting, but its definitely worth it.

Thank you mom.

We started in Miami on Wednesday morning to try a US Airways flight, but moved on to the Ft. Lauderdale airport after a few hours. Waiting for a flight opportunity in the terminal while my mom was boarding a flight, a new plan emerged – and it left in 15 minutes a terminal away. I ran to make the flight (thank goodness Southwest gets delayed all the time), and made it on a flight to Detroit, where a Delta flight left the next day nonstop to Beijing. I arrived in Detroit around 11:00pm and found the comfiest chair I could find. I camped out here until passengers came for an early morning flight around 4:30am. By this time, some of the restaurants had opened, so I sat down at a little diner and had a cup of terrible airport coffee, sort of dazed by the whole situation, and the past 18 hours.

At 6:00am I went to the international terminal, finally able to check in (6 hours before my flight), and found another seat to camp out in. When the desk assistant started clearing standby passengers I got sort of nervous and by the time everyone had boarding and I was the last time on the list, I was freaking out a little bit. When I went up to the desk, the nice Chinese lady could not find my name. Uh Oh. However, when she changed computers she found me! I was the last one to board and was anticipating a middle seat next to a crying baby. I handed my boarding pass to the attendant, but rather than pointing me toward the back, she ushered me, with a “right this way ma’am,” through a curtain and to row 1, of the business class. I checked and re-checked the number on my pass, and lo and behold! This beautiful capsule of interstellar comfort, dressed with 2 pillows and a blanket was all mine for the next 13 hours. The deal was sealed when I accepted a glass of champagne, and I sat down not even caring if I would have to pay extra for the 3-course meal and all the freebies (I never had to).

While in China, I am completing a project on the organic and local food movement in Beijing (you may have gathered as much). I am keeping a blog as a resource for other study abroad students and foreigners! Check it out!

My first find of this trip! I maybe started a little late because it took me 2 hours to find it and it was dark before I got there… it was also in quite a rural place. But I returned to the house safely!

An actual orchard with associated restaurant and store. Very nice, almost formal, although there is no need to dress up. All food is organic, and most comes from the surrounding farm! Very scenic, although a little tough to get to. Prices are reasonable for the quality. Mostly European dishes.

ENP has many programs, but I am specifically working at one of their youth outreach centers. I’ve been at the organization for over a month now. There are about 30 kids, ages around 12-16. They love Jason Derulo, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, and Beyonce. They enjoy soccer, basketball, checkers, and more. Sometimes the kids are rowdy, but I also think they are some of the sweetest people! One time I was playing basketball outside with some of the girls and another two girls came and brought me water from inside the center in case I was thirsty. How thoughtful!

There is definitely a language barrier between the children and myself. They all speak fluent Hebrew, while I am just a beginner in Hebrew. Sometimes they pull out their phones to use Google translate to converse with me. Since I’ve been here I’ve gotten better at Hebrew, but still nowhere near the level I would like to be. It is a good thing you do not have to solely rely on conversation to communicate with kids. Playing soccer, drawing together, or playing chess still brings the kids and me together. In times when I am leading an activity, another volunteer here who has become my close friend helps me translate.

The initial purpose of my Engaged Learning project was to promote intercultural understanding between Ethiopian-Israeli and Israeli kids through soccer. However, the longer I’ve been here, the more I’ve realized I needed to adapt my project’s purpose. There are many hurdles integrating into a new culture, and I feel that the Ethiopian-Israelis here need empowerment more than anything so they can succeed when faced with certain challenges.

It is very difficult to adjust from a life in Ethiopia to one in Israel. Many people from Ethiopia come from villages and then arrive into a Western, urban society. Not only do the Ethiopians have to start from scratch, but they also have to adapt to a new culture. Their kids also have a hard time growing up at the intersection of Ethiopian and Israeli cultures. They sometimes have to be the translator for their parents, and their parents cannot always understand the challenges they face. Even asking for help with math homework is something not every Ethiopian-Israeli child can ask their parent. The center allows the children to interact with people who are facing the same challenges, get support, and get involved with different activities. The center also hosts parents’ nights to get the parents involved and help them understand what their children are going through.

Because of these additional challenges, I want to empower the girls at ENP to give them the self-confidence to believe that they can get through any obstacle that may come their way. Just recently we had a girls’ night. and one of the games we played was called “guess the song.” One person would hum the tune of a song and the audience had to guess which song it was. Multiple times one person would guess and then everyone would start singing together. It was a simple game, yet here were different cliques of girls coming together through music. It was unifying. I hope I will continue to see more of this at future girls’ nights!

I am currently in Byron Bay, which is probably the most beautiful place I’ve ever been in my life. It sort of reminds me of Big Sur in California, except I can see even more of the ocean in one view! The water here is beautiful and clear and there’s no litter on the beach! That makes me SO happy. Whenever I visit the beach in Santa Monica I am picking up plastic and garbage left behind. That alone goes to show the cultural difference in perspective on environment.

That actually seems to be a big theme on my trip already — that the environment and the humans living in it tell an interconnected story. Today my professor said, “You can’t look at the landscape without looking at the people living on it for the last 50,000 years.” He was explaining how you can’t just learn about Australian landscape without learning about Aboriginal Australians. What is happening in the environment tells a story about the people living in it and how the people live tells a story about what is happening to the environment.

Speaking of which, today I realized the story of earth’s evolution and the life on it is literally that — a STORY. It’s OUR story. I love looking at earth’s history from this perspective because I am a storyteller myself and I now I feel really inspired and excited to dive fully into science’s story about human and earth’s history.

One of the most impacting things I’ve realized in the two days I’ve been here is that “Aboriginals” does not refer to one group of people, but rather to about 300 nations that existed before England invaded. Each group of people had their own language and way of living (because of difference in environment), but the concept of Dreamtime was similar across the different tribes. (I’ll introduce Dreamtime in a later post, because it deserves detailed attention.)

The day before I left I met with Evan Maurer, previous director of Minneapolis Institute of the Arts and expert in indigenous art from around the world. He shared a lot of useful info with me and even showed me some beautiful Aboriginal objects he has in his home. He also emphasized that the objects are important because they tell a story about the people and the individual who created it. What was going on at the time is reflected in the objects.

Before I spoke with Evan I looked at Indigenous culture’s commercial tourist attraction as sad, invasive, and offensive. For example, that’s how I felt driving through New Mexico and seeing tipped and rain sticks sold as souvenirs for visitors. After speaking with Evan I have adopted a different perspective, the perspective that the indigenous artwork is being tailored for for the understanding of outsiders and shared with those who come to visit. It’s a more positive outlook and equally true. I will write more in detail about my wonderful meeting with Evan in a later post and it will include pictures of several objects Evan so graciously shared with me!

This is only the top of the iceberg. I wish I could share EVERYTHING with you! I am still jetlagged, but I want to stay as updates as possible!

I am SO grateful to be here. I am loving hostel life! My skin is already sun kissed and my hair is filled with salt and sand. I can’t help but think, “this is how I am supposed to live.”

If you please recall my first post, the Great Trinity Forest is a bottomland hardwood forest. That’s a fancy term for river swamp. But I didn’t really know what it meant until I experienced it for myself.

On May 13, I went to do field work with Shannon and graduate student Tom Green. It had rained almost an inch the day before, and we were lucky it wasn’t raining that morning. As we took the path into the forest, our shoes were soon heavy with mud. The GPS unit led us to the first sample plot of the day, and we passed puddles that kept getting larger and larger until they were unavoidable. In fact, the puddle was larger than the sample plot. We hadn’t seen the forest like this before, so we weren’t wearing rain boots. “For science!” we exclaimed while water soaked through our shoes and socks to our feet.

It was really interesting to be in the flooded forest. The flooding is a distinctive characteristic of the Great Trinity Forest, it’s what makes it unique. Because of this flooding, the forest has an impact on water quality and stream recharge – which are important things to consider in a city concerned with drought.

Water is a big issue right now. Protecting forests could be a way to keep it clean and available. That’s just one way a bottomland forest is great. It’s also fun to get your feet wet 🙂

My show breakdowns will vary slightly for this project, since I am discovering connections between the shows and my sociopolitical observations in Russia. As follows:

Who did the show? When, where?

I saw the performance on Monday, May 26th 2014 at Theatre Lenkom. Built in 1907, Theatre Lenkom became the “Theatre for the Working Youth” in 1927 and has been a leader in new and experimental theatre ever since*.

Some pictures from the outside of the theatre:

And from the inside (every theatre has a cool chandelier, I’m going to try to document them all!)

What stuck out to you about this production artistically/technically (what did you admire/learn about as a student theatre artist)?

In depth ensemble work. There was an ensemble of male soldiers and women of the court and every member of the ensemble had a fully developed individual character and action- all together enriching the life on stage. And though every member was unique, they worked together like a machine- seamlessly transforming the stage in between scenes while singing, working off one another during the action- but still listening the entire time. (Ensemble work was also strikingly strong in Мёртвые ду́ши – or “Dead Souls” which I saw at the Gogol center.)

The use of the floor planks. Altering the stage floor discombobulates the perception of the stage- and lends to creating a surrealistic experience for the audience. (An irregular stage floor was used in Мёртвые ду́ши as well.)

At the top of the show.

When we find Balakirev hiding from the army.

At intermission, before entering into the dream world.

What were you able to connect between this show and the current sociopolitical situations in Russia?

The Jester Balakirev is yanked along from ruler to ruler until he is eventually left stranded. He watches the deterioration of each beloved power figure- deterioration brought about by exhaustion, insecurity, mania, and too much power. Russia’s history is populated with leaders who brought deterioration to themselves and others because of too much power; Ivan the Terrible, Lenin, and Stalin to name some obvious – though I wonder if there is any statement Theatre Lenkom is making about the present in choosing to revive this play. Russia’s current president is Putin and he has been in office- either as prime minister or president- since 1999. Is it at all a comment on his long reign in power, “It’s impossible become a clever king and be not crazy”? Grigori is famous for reflecting Russian sentiment after the fall of the Soviet Union- the Soviet Union tried to be good- it was a good idea- but was it possible for Soviet Union leaders to amass so much power and still do good for their country? Is deterioration of a human power figure inevitable? Can a human being with a lot of power still be just and fair without getting corrupted? I still have a lot of research to do on current Russian sentiment about Putin, about what he has done that is popular and what he has done that is not popular – and also, what he has done that has bettered life in Russia for the majority and worsened life for the majority (and whether these are synonymous with what is and isn’t popular).

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenkom_Theatre

**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Gorin

***This summary is based off my experience as beginner in Russian language with my friend who speaks more Russian helping me and some research. There may be some variations in details.

I had lunch with Johnny and Michael at Carluccio’s in Dublin. We had a really nice time reflecting on the tour and talking about the company’s plans for the year to come. They thanked me for my work; I thanked them for letting me come along on such an incredible tour. We sat, ate and talked for nearly 3 hours before we parted ways and I headed home.

Things I learned on tour:

-How to communicate effectively when working with crews who are new to your production

-How many of the dancers act in the pieces, they allow the dances to take them on an “emotional journey”

-Crumpets must be eaten with excessive amounts of melted butter and jam

-Fish and chips should be enjoyed wrapped in newspaper, seasoned with salt and vinegar, and consumed via wooden fork

-How a Deputy Stage Manager can act as a translator between choreographer/dancer, score, and crew

-To be gentle when using your finger to open LX tape (Chris and Gemma, that’s for you if you’re reading this)

-How yoga can make one feel physically and mentally grounded, stable and quiet

-The Cornish sea is really, really cold and should probably be entered only in wet suits

-How exhausting a split-week tour can be after 5 weeks

-How annoying shredded trash bags (our “snow”) can be for a crew, yet how stunning they can look for an audience

-How pleasant working for a company of considerate, dedicated, authentic artists can be

Engaged Learning

is students taking an active role in their education, learning beyond the classroom, tackling real world issues, using the tools of the classroom, exploring potential careers. Students have an opportunity to take their learning beyond the classroom to the capstone level in the Engaged Learning Project. These are blogs of Engaged Learners.